Imitated normal hard book cover



Jan. 25, 1966 MARGQLIS 3,231,295

IMITATED NORMAL HARD BOOK COVER Filed Nov. 18, 1963 I N VENTOR.

United States Patent l 3,231,296 IMITATED NORMAL HARD BOOK CQVIER Fay Margolis, F. M. Charlton Co. Inc., 443 W. 15th St., New York, N-Y. Filed Nov. 18, 1963, Ser. No. 324,354 2 Claims. (61. 28129) This invention relates generally to bookbinding and particularly to covering book of the paper bound variety.

Books of the paper bound variety have been made for many years but were limited to volumes that were generally mass produced for relatively low cost consumption. With increasing competition and costs, cloth bound books are becoming too expensive to maintain high level sales. With the tremendous strides made in the plastics industry, plastic sheets and plastic coated cardboard and paper sheets are available which are particularly adapted for use as book covers. However, in most instances, this material is relatively thin and flexible.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a cover for a paper bound class of book which simulates a cloth book cover in thickness and rigidity.

Another object of the present invention is to provide the foregoing book cover having hinges which will resist failure.

And another object of the present invention is to provide the foregoing book cover having means for connection to the pages to be bound which simulates the construction utilized in cloth bound volumes.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art by referring to the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an unfolded sheet for providing a cover for a book in accordance with the present invention,

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of a portion of the novel book cover taken on line 2-2 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the novel book cover during an intermediate step of construction,

FIGURES 4 and 5 are enlarged sectional views taken on lines 4--4 and 5-5, respectively, of FIGURE 3,

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of the novel book cover open fiat after final construction,

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 7-7 of FIGURE 6 and incorporating a modification therein,

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view similar to FIGURE 6 with a hinged cover portion bent relative to the rest of the cover and including the modification of FIGURE 7.

It should be understood that the term paper bound book as used herein is in its generic sense to denote a book having a cover of plastic or of paper or cardboard that may or may not have an outer plastic layer adhered thereto.

Now referring to the drawings, a cover 10 made in accordance with the present invention for a paper bound book is made of a substantially rectangular sheet with upper and lower edges 11 spaced parallel to one another. The cover 10 is symmetrical about a central back panel 14 and has pairs of spaced fold lines 15, 17, and 19, indicated by construction lines between the central back panel 14 and a pair of spaced substantially parallel end edges 21 of the cover 10 that are normal to edges 11. Between progressive pairs of fold lines 15, 17 and 19, and edges 21, on both sides of panel 14, are binding panels 16, outer front and back panels 18, and inner front and back panels 20, It should be understood that either pair of inner and outer panels 13 and may be for the book front while the other provides the back cover leaf, being limited only by printing or illustrations applied to the cover 10.

3,231,296 Patented Jan. 25, 1966 Cover 10 has a pair of tabs 12 extending outwardly past upper and lower edges 11, being limited in length to the distance between the fold lines 19.. Tabs 12 have a central portion 22 of reduced thickness that extend inwardly toward one another past fold lines 13 in alinement with edges 11, each an amount substantially equal to the length of the tab 12 that is disposed outwardly of the adjacent fold line 11. The recessed portions are formed by crush pressing, grinding, or by any other well known method of material removal suitable for this purpose.

Tabs 12 are folded along line 13 to overlie adjacent inner surfaces of panels 14, 16, and 18, and are preferably cemented or glued thereto. A strip pad 23 is cemented to the inner surface of panels 14 and 16, and adjacent portions of panels 18. The ends of pad 23 have binding tabs 24 adjacent the edges formed by folds 13 and overlie the central portions of the tabs 12 which are of reduced thickness. It will be noted that the binding tabs 24 serve as additional strengthening pieces and also as decorations. Thus the utility of the portions 22 should be clearly understood to provide a flat surface for pad 23 as shown in FIG. 4. Cover panels 20 are folded back or inwardly overlying the adjacent panels 18 with edges 21 not extending past fold lines 17. Panels 20 are spaced from panels 18 by the tabs 12 and the sides of the strip 23. Preferably, panels 20 are cemented to the intervening tabs 12 and strip portions to prevent their unfolding when the cover is opened. The edges of the collated pages of the book to be bound (not shown) are connected to the strip 23 between fold lines 15, while the adjacent surfaces of the first and last pages are connected to the strip 23 disposed between fold lines 15 and 17.

The material of cover 10 along the fold lines 17, including the overlying portions of strip 23 form cover hinges which, it should be realized are of rugged construction. The double spaced thicknesses provided by spaced panels 18 and 20 provide thickness and rigidity comparable to cloth bindings.

As shown in FIGURES 7 and 8, fold lines 15 and panels 16 may be dispensed with and the edges of the pages (not shown) of the book to be covered would then be connected to only that portion of the strip overlying the back panel 14.

While certain novel features of my invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claims, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A cover for a paper bound book made of a single substantially rectangular sheet with two pairs of substantially parallel opposite edges, comprising a central back panel to be connected to edges of pages of a book to be bound, folds on both sides of the back panel providing hinges for a pair of cover portions, the sheet outwardly of the hinge folds providing such hinged cover portions, each cover portion having a fold line spaced substantially parallel from the adjacent hinge fold dividing the cover portion into inner and an outer panels of substantially equal size, a pair of spaced fold lines between the hinge folds for defining a pair of binding panels between the back panel and the hinged cover portions, a pair of like continuous tabs extending outwardly of a pair of parallel opposite edges between the cover portion folds, a pair of fold lines alined with the edges beyond which the tabs extend, the tabs being folded inwardly on the tab fold lines and being cemented to the portions of the sheet which they overlie, the central portion of each tab and the portion of the sheet which said central portion overlies being of reduced thickness, whereby to provide a flat surface for said central back panel and binding panels, and extending the full length thereof between said tab fold lines, a bindery strip entirely overlying said flat surface of said back panel, said binding panels and adjacent portions of the outer panels and having end portions that overlie the central portions of the tabs, the strip being cemented to the portions of 10 the sheet it overlies and to the ends of the pages to connect the page ends to the cover, and the inner panels being folded inwardly and being cemented to the tabs and the portions of the strips they overlie, whereby the tabs and the strip portions disposed between the inner and outer panels space the inner and outer panels of each cover portion from one another.

2. The cover in accordance with claim 1, and a binding tab at each end of said strip, each binding tab having a central portion of a width equal to the central back panel and located substantially in alignment with the ends thereof.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 169,905 11/1875 Holden 281-34 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,041,118 5/1953 France.

424,774 2/1935 Great Britain. 724,987 2/ 1955 Great Britain.

15 EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

LAWRENCE CHARLES, LEONARD W. VARNER, ]R.,

Examiners. 

1. A COVER FOR A PAPER BOUND BOOK MADE OF A SINGLE SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR SHEET WITH TWO PAIRS OF SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL OPPOSITE EDGES, COMPRISING A CENTRAL BACK PANEL TO BE CONNECTED TO EDGES OF PAGES OF A BOOK TO BE BOUND, FOLDS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BACK PANEL PROVIDING HINGES FOR A PAIR OF COVER PORTIONS, THE SHEET OUTWARDLY OF THE HINGE FOLDS PROVIDING SUCH HINGED COVER PORTIONS, EACH COVER PORTION HAVING A FOLD LINE SPACED SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL FROM THE ADJACENT HINGE FOLD DIVIDING THE COVER PORTION INTO INNER AND AN OUTER PANELS OF SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL SIZE, A PAIR OF SPACED FOLD LINES BETWEEN THE HINGE FOLDS FOR DEFINING A PAIR OF BINDING PANELS BETWEEN THE BACK PANEL AND THE HINGED COVER PORTIONS, A PAIR OF LIKE CONTINUOUS TABS EXTENDING OUTWARDLY OF A PAIR OF PARALLEL OPPOSITE EDGES BETWEEN THE COVER PORTION FOLDS, A PAIR OF FOLD LINES ALINED WITH THE EDGES BEYOND WHICH THE TABS EXTEND, THE TABS BEING FOLDED INWARDLY ON THE TAB FOLD LINES AND BEING CEMENTED TO THE PORTIONS OF THE SHEET WHICH THEY OVERLIE, THE CENTRAL PORTION OF EACH TAB AND THE PORTION OF THE SHEET WHICH SAID CENTRAL PORTION OVERLIES BEING OF REDUCED THICKNESS, WHERBY TO PROVIDE A FLAT SURFACE FOR SAID CENTRAL BACK PANEL AND BINDING PANELS, AND EXTENDING THE FULL LENGTH THEREOF BETWEEN SAID TAB FOLD LINES, A BINDERY STRIP ENTIRELY OVERLYING SAID FLAT SURFACE OF SAID BACK PANEL, SAID BINDING PANELS AND ADJACENT PORTIONS OF THE OUTER PANELS AND HAVING END PORTIONS THAT OVERLIE THE CENTRAL PORTIONS OF THE TABS, THE STRIP BEING CEMENTED TO THE PORTIONS OF THE SHEET IT OVERLIES AND TO THE ENDS OF THE PAGES TO CONNECT THE PAGE ENDS TO THE COVER, AND THE INNER PANELS BEING FOLDED INWARDLY AND BEING CEMENTED TO THE TABS AND THE PORTIONS OF THE STRIPS THEY OVERLIE, WHEREBY THE TABS AND THE STRIP PORTIONS DISPOSED BETWEEN THE INNER AND OUTER PANELS SPACE THE INNER AND OUTER PANELS OF EACH COVER PORTION FROM ONE ANOTHER. 